Marriage for gay couples... and civil partnerships for everyone!

Lib Dems backed a motion calling for gay couples to choose between marriage or civil partnerships

Gay marriage moved a step closer in Britain yesterday as Liberal
Democrats backed a law change that would give equal rights to same-sex
couples.

In addition, the party ruled heterosexual couples should be allowed
to undertake civil partnerships, which are currently reserved for gay
couples.

Delegates at its annual conference in Liverpool voted
overwhelmingly in favour of the switch despite warnings that the drive
for full equality could cost taxpayers up to £5billion over the next ten
years.

Like marriage, civil partnerships confer extra tax and pension
rights to couples. Although there is little legal difference between the
two ceremonies, many believe the symbolism is important.

Lib Dem equalities minister Lynne Featherstone said she was 'very
proud' of her party for backing the move, and indicated she would now
press for the change within Government.

The vote will increase tensions within the Coalition, as many
Tory traditionalists are instinctively wary of the idea of gay marriage.
Prime Minister David Cameron has previously warned of the need for
caution in considering the move.

Churches and other religious institutions would not be forced to
conduct ceremonies for gay couples, although some critics fear this
could eventually happen.

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Former Lib Dem candidate Ed Fordham told the conference: 'The
marriage laws are 200 years out of date and we have the responsibility
to drag them out of the closet.'

The gay rights group Stonewall has opposed extending civil
partnerships to heterosexuals, warning that the measure could cost
taxpayers up to £500million a year if large numbers of cohabiting
couples could receive significant extra bereavement and pension rights
without marrying.

But Lib Dem delegates accused Stonewall of using spurious reasons to try to frustrate the drive for greater equality.

Brian Paddick told the conference it was wrong his gay marriage wasn't recognised in Britain

Fred Dunford, from Meon Valley, Hampshire, was one of a handful of
party members at the conference to oppose the motion, arguing it would
cost the Lib Dems votes on the doorstep. He said: 'Civil partnerships
give enough legal protection in tax and inheritance rights. I do not
believe that we should go as far as marriage.'

The Lib Dems' former London mayoral candidate Brian Paddick told
the conference he had married his partner in Oslo in an 'intensely
moving' ceremony. He said it was wrong that his marriage was not
recognised in Britain.

The former police chief said: 'Here it reverts to a civil partnership and that doesn't feel the same at all.

'Yes, we have to be sensitive to religions and what they feel on
this issue, and we are not talking necessarily about forcing religions
to marry same-sex people in their synagogues and churches and temples.

'But what we are saying is that there should be equality.'

Jenny Barnes, a transsexual delegate, said the distinction
between marriage and civil partnerships was 'artificial'. She said it
meant people who changed sex had to divorce their spouse and enter a
civil partnership if they wanted to remain with their partner after the
change.

The peer said locking people up can lead to more crime, not less
- and was much too expensive as Britain bids to cut the deficit. He
derided the practice of jailing offenders as a 'macho' and ' kneejerk'
reaction to crime and called for more community sentences and a greater
focus on rehabilitation.

Huhne warns of oil price shock

Britain's economic recovery could be knocked off course by a series of 1970sstyle oil price shocks, Chris Huhne warned yesterday.

In comments apparently designed to soften Lib Dem opposition to his U-turn on nuclear power, the Energy Secretary warned there was an urgent need to reduce Britain's reliance on fossil fuels.

Mr Huhne told a party conference fringe meeting that oil prices could double, wiping £45billion off the British economy over two years. Later he confirmed that he would ignore his party's longstanding opposition to nuclear power to drive through a new generation of nuclear power stations. In a speech later Mr Huhne told his party's conference that evidence of climate change was becoming 'more alarming, not less' and said he wanted to see a huge expansion in the number of offshore wind farms but that this would go hand in hand with nuclear power.

Mr Huhne also announced a crackdown on energy firms which impose 'outrageous' price hikes on customers without informing them promptly. Energy firms could also be forced to put details of cheaper tariffs on their bills, including those offered by rival firms.

They will also be required to fund a new scheme to insulate homes, which Mr Huhne said could create thousands of jobs.

We won't give up over tuition fees

Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes warned the Tories yesterday
that his party would continue to push for the scrapping of tuition fees
and the Trident nuclear deterrent.

He said being in coalition did not mean the Lib Dems should be 'quiet or subdued or marginalised'.

He also reaffirmed his party's opposition to building new
nuclear power stations with state subsidy. But he said he was fully
behind the Coalition - despite rumours he was increasingly concerned
about the agreement.

New row over cap on migrants

Chris Huhne yesterday stoked the row over the Coalition's cap on
immigration - claiming it could jeopardise plans to open a new
£100million wind-turbine factory in Britain.

He claimed that the firm behind the plan, General Electric, would
find it hard to fill some specialist jobs without bringing experts from
overseas. But the Energy Secretary's remarks mystified Whitehall
officials, who insist there is no shortage of work permits available to
the U.S. company.

Senior Tory ministers insist the interim cap on non-EU economic
migrants will cut the number of permits available this year by as little
as 1,300.

No retreat over human rights

The Lib Dem peer declared that while the Coalition was 'looking' at the Human Rights Act, there was no intention to 'diminish it'.

In opposition, David Cameron attacked the law, introduced by Labour in 2000, and promised to replace it with a British 'Bill of Rights'. The Prime Minister described it as 'practically an invitation for terrorists and would-be terrorists to come to Britain'.

But the Coalition agreement stated reform of the Act would not be a priority. However, Lord McNally, whose department is in charge of the HRA, has now gone further, telling his party's annual conference the Government wanted the Act to be ' better understood and appreciated'.

He said: 'Our commitment to civil liberties, human rights and transparency are not something we apologise about. They are built into the DNA of this party.'

Last night, backbench Tory MP Phillip Davies said: 'This is the kind of garbage we have to put up with when in coalition with the Liberal Democrats.'